‘Kaleidoscope’ Netflix Crime Series: Coming to Netflix in January 2023 and What We Know So Far

Late last year, Netflix announced it had picked up a new “innovative” heist series based on a true story. Tati Gabrielle, Jai Courtney, Giancarlo Esposito, and Rufus Sewell are attached to the show which is scheduled to be released on New Year’s Day 2023. Here’s a rundown of everything we know about Netflix’s Kaleidoscope series.

Note: this article is a live preview of the previously titled Kaleidoscope which we first published on September 16th, 2022 where we broke the news alongside Hollywood trades. We have updated the piece to expand on additional information as time goes on.

Here’s a quick rundown on what you can expect from the series:

“Spanning 24 years, the series centers around the largest heist ever attempted, and the vengeance, scheming, loyalties, and betrayals that surround it. It’s loosely inspired by the real story where $70 billion dollars in bonds went missing in downtown Manhattan during Hurricane Sandy.”

The NYPost has an excellent primer for the series that looks into the issue of the bearer bonds being lost to Hurricane Sandy which occurred between October 22nd and November 2nd, 2012.

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Who’s behind Kaleidoscope on Netflix?

Eric Garcia (known for Matchstick Men, Repo Men, and Anonymous Rex) serves as creator, showrunner, and executive producer on the project.

Producing the series are Automatik Entertainment (Fred Berger, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and Justin Levy) and Scott Free Productions (Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker and Jordan Sheehan).

Among the directors attached to the show include:

• José Padilha who will direct the pilot episode and the second episode. He’s best known for serving as a creator, director and executive producer on Netflix’s The Mechanism.
• Everardo Gout (unconfirmed) will direct two episodes in the series. Following Kaleidoscope, Gout is moving onto direct Netflix’s American Jesus Millarworld adaptation.
• Mairzee Almas (unconfirmed) will also direct two episodes of the show. Her credits includes Netflix’s The Sandman (she’ll direct episode 6) and worked on Netflix’s Shadow and Bone and Locke & Key.

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When is Kaleidoscope coming to Netflix?

We can confirm that Kaleidoscope will be released on Netflix on January 1st, 2023.

Netflix has also released some behind-the-scenes footage of Kaleidoscope giving us a further first look at the exciting new series.

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Who is in the cast for Netflix’s Kaleidoscope series?

• Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad and The Boys) is Leo Papa aka The Mastermind – The Leader. Leo is whip-smart, intense, and driven, with an engineer’s mind and a meticulous eye for detail. He became a thief at a young age — and though he had a chance to get out, he couldn’t stay away from the criminal life and his relapse cost him his family and his freedom.
• Paz Vega (Sex and Lucía, Spanglish) is Ava Mercer aka The Weapons Specialist – An attorney by day, she is equally at home on a gun range or gallery show as she is in the courtroom. Although she plays things fast and loose, deep down she’s a passionate soul who will do anything to protect the few people close to her.
• Rufus Sewell (Dark City, will also appear in Netflix’s The Diplomat) as Roger Salas aka The Corporate Security Titan – A former thief who has reinvented himself as a top tier security expert, Roger is a salesman with an uncanny ability to manipulate people to his ends. Loyal, to a point, but his own ambitions and needs will win out every time.
• Tati Gabrielle (The 100, CAOS) as Hannah Kim AKA The Protégé – Intelligent, ambitious, and adaptable, Hannah is a woman who wears many hats — and is driven by far more than money. As a chameleon who flows between the world of high-stakes finance and low-lying crime, she will have to use everything in her bag of tricks to find a way up and out.
• Peter Mark Kendall (The Americans, Chicago Med) as Stan Loomis aka The Smuggler – A small-time smuggler with a big-time passion for life’s epicurean pleasures, Stan’s got a mouth that never stops running and the heart of a hopeless romantic. Loyal to a fault, he’s willing to risk it all for the object of his desire — even if it means giving up the comfortable life he’s built for himself.
• Rosaline Elbay (Ramy) as Judy Goodwin aka The Explosive Expert – The crew’s demolitions specialist, Judy is headstrong and independent — an eccentric spitfire with a sarcastic edge who is clever and talented enough to stay a step ahead of her mistakes.
• Jai Courtney (Terminator Genisys, Divergent) as Bob Goodwin aka The Safecracker – A chest-puffing alpha male with a knack for safecracking and pushing people’s buttons, Bob is attractive enough to be a threat and smart enough to be dangerous to anyone who gets in his way when he’s on the hunt.
• Jordan Mendoza (Human Resources, ZIWE) as RJ Acosta Jr aka The Driver – Shaggy and technical-minded, RJ is a self-taught engineer, a brilliant mechanic and car customizer, and a driver extraordinaire. While he excels in tech know-how, he lacks common sense and people skills, but his loyalty to Leo knows no bounds. When he’s invited to join the crew, he jumps at the chance to prove his worth.
• Niousha Noor (#Persianize) as Nazan Abassi aka The Driven Agent “who is the raging fire that threatens to burn our crew of thieves down”.
• Soojeong Son (Servant) as Liz Kim aka The Sister – Liz is Hannah’s younger sister, a free spirit and aspiring DJ/immersive dance captain. She’s a source of joy to Hannah, but her laissez-faire attitude conflicts with Hannah’s deep work ethic. Together, they’ll have to find a way to support each other and work hand-in-hand if they want to come out on top.

Beyond this initial cast list, we also now know the following have also joined the cast:

• Hemky Madera (Spider-Man: Homecoming) as Carlos aka The Henchmen
• Bubba Weiler as Agent Sameul Toby aka The Partner
• Stacey Oristano (Bunheads) as Barbara Loomis
• Whit Washing (Just Getting Started) as Ted Gough
• Max Casella (Jackie) as Taco
• Robinne Lee (Hitch) as Lily
• James Augustus Lee (Ecclesiastes) as Cade

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Kaleidoscope episode titles revealed with a unique viewing experience

In the press release from Netflix, all of the titles of the episodes have been revealed. However, the order in which episodes of Kaleidoscope are viewed will be unique to each subscriber;

The compelling crime anthology series takes a non-linear approach to storytelling, building intrigue and suspense uniquely, with Netflix members each having a different immersive viewing experience. Some members may start with certain episodes (like episodes “Yellow” or “Green”), then move deeper into their own personal viewing order with varying episodes (“Blue” or “Violet” or “Orange,” followed by “Red” or “Pink”) until the epic “White: The Heist” story finale.

All viewers will eventually see all episodes, but the order in which they watch the episodes will affect their viewpoint on the story, the characters, and the questions and answers at the heart of the heist. How will you experience the colors of Kaleidoscope?

Below are the “Colors” and episode titles of Kaleidoscope;

• Yellow: 6 Weeks Before The Heist
• Green: 7 Years Before the Heist
• Blue: 5 Days Before the Heist
• Violet: 24 Years Before the Heist
• Orange: 3 Weeks Before the Heist
• Red: The Morning After the Heist
• Pink: 6 Months After
• White: The Heist” the epic story finale.

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Where is Kaleidoscope in production at Netflix?

Kaleidoscope is filming mostly in Brooklyn at Netflix’s new state-of-the-art New York Studio that’s named Bushwick Studio. It’s a brand new location for Netflix which opened its doors in the summer of 2021 and therefore, Kaleidoscope is one of the first major series to be filmed there. The studio is part of Netflix’s $100 million pledge for the city.

According to production listings seen by What’s on Netflix, the show began filming on September 1st, 2021, and wrapped on March 16th, 2022.

Throughout early 2022, we got snippets of news from both eye-witnesses and local news reports that the show was filming in and around Brooklyn.

Huntington Now reported in January 2022 that the series took over The Dix Hills Diner and the neighboring Gold Coast Jewelry & Pawn on East Jericho Turnpike

As we mentioned, a number of eyewitnesses caught the show filming and shared the news on social media. They caught the series filming in 28 Liberty Street (around the One Chase Manhatten Plaza), Fulton and Nostrand in Brooklyn, Midtown East New York,

They filming Jigsaw on Fulton and Nostrand this morning lol

— Remy Ma (@Adi_Frenchy) March 4, 2022

They were filming a rain scene by my job. A show for Netflix next year called Jigsaw. pic.twitter.com/613zXSR3Ti

— Vember Judgement, yo. (@VemberJudgement) October 16, 2021

A number of users on Facebook caught the show filming in and around Corey Beach in New York City.

For more crime series in development at Netflix, check out our preview for those coming up here.

Are you looking forward to checking out Kaleidoscope on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.